Athlone thread

pawrick

Blanco100 wrote: »

Can anyone tell me of any high speed broadband providers in the coosan area ?

Would be very interested in seeing what my options are in coosan point road/ Bloomfield area

Thanks a million in advance

try your address in bonkers.ie to see who covers your home

pawrick

Anyone notice all the invasive species signs appearing along the Roscommon road past Ganleys roundabout on the left as you leave town and on both sides further along the road? I assume it's Japanese knotweed warnings but haven't had a close look yet. If it is hopefully the council haven't spread it too much around the place.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Mods, I wonder could we sticky this thread? Started it partly for people to ask questions/get info and I've seen a few threads started over things that might have gotten a quicker response on this thread, had it been seen. Just a suggestion.

pawrick

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

Mods, I wonder could we sticky this thread? Started it partly for people to ask questions/get info and I've seen a few threads started over things that might have gotten a quicker response on this thread, had it been seen. Just a suggestion.

2nd that sugestion

6541

How is the whole chinatown thing going ?

pawrick

6541 wrote: »

How is the whole chinatown thing going ?

Haven't heard mention of that in ages, I assume everyone involved would like it to be quietly forgotten about?

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Whole thing was sort of pie in the sky from the word go at any rate.

tractorporn

6541 wrote:

How is the whole chinatown thing going ?

pawrick wrote:

Haven't heard mention of that in ages, I assume everyone involved would like it to be quietly forgotten about?

They set up in Birmingham instead

L.Jenkins

We should set up our own chinatown.

Buckfast W

L.Jenkins wrote:

We should set up our own chinatown.

With black jack, and hookers???

Blanco100

Does anyone know where the A2 bus stops on the coosan road? It says it stops every half on near coosan heath but I've not seen any actual bus stop does anyone know?

Thanks in advance

flowerbattle

Blanco100 wrote: »

Does anyone know where the A2 bus stops on the coosan road? It says it stops every half on near coosan heath but I've not seen any actual bus stop does anyone know?

Thanks in advance

It stopped for me just across the road from the entrance to Coosan Heath. I'm guessing you just have to stand on the side of the road and hail it down.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

They recently extended the bus route out to Bealnamullia, but there are no stops or signage, you just have to hail the bus.

Blanco100

flowerbattle wrote: »

It stopped for me just across the road from the entrance to Coosan Heath. I'm guessing you just have to stand on the side of the road and hail it down.

If I was heading to golden island which side of road do I stand ?

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Article on irishtimes.com about city status for Athlone;

Athlone should get an indication about how the Government feels about its bid for regional city status in coming months, when the first draft of the National Planning Framework is approved by Cabinet and put out for consultation.

But the town, right in the centre of Ireland, has been here before.

There was talk of potential city status for Athlone more than 15 years ago as part of the last National Spatial Strategy. Instead, Athlone got lumped in with Tullamore and Mullingar as the “ATM” gateway region for the midlands. It is now widely acknowledged that the ATM model failed. Athlone wants to strike out on its own.

Destination Athlone, the steering group that is driving Athlone’s bid, grew out of a tourism industry collaboration set up four years ago, which now also incorporates public-sector groups and private-sector operators across many sectors.



Taking the successful development of Westport as inspiration, they are banking on a collaborative approach to secure city status. This, they hope, will spur public investment, which would in turn lead to more private investment.

Co-ordination

There was a perception in the past that Athlone suffered from a lack of co-ordination between the two county council regions it straddles. Martin Lydon of Roscommon County Council and Pat Keating of Westmeath County Council, both active in the Destination Athlone group, say their local authorities are now firmly behind the bid for city status.

Roscommon council is progressing plans for a new innovation centre in the Monksland area of Athlone, which it hopes will boost commerce from the west side of town. Lydon says Roscommon councillors have “unanimously” backed Athlone’s city bid: “For the first time, we are looking east, rather than west.”

Keating says he believes Athlone has “the best chance” out of any of the midlands towns of fulfilling the Government’s mooted ambition of developing a new city in the region. Other areas, such as Portlaoise, may also be in the running, however.


For the business sector, the bid for city status is seen as crucial for attracting investment to Athlone. John O’Regan, a senior executive with one of the biggest local employers, telecommunications manufacturer Ericsson, says it would help the company attract and retain the best engineers, which he said is vital for the company’s growth.

Destination Athlone’s chairman, the Hodson Bay hotelier John O’Sullivan, is hoping for an indication from Government before the end of the year.

“The midlands region has to have a centre. We feel it has to be us,” he said.

I can't see it happening tbh. The midlands gateway thing failed to spark because of a lack of critical mass, the towns failed to do enough to attract the industry and population needed to grow sufficiently.


Athlone definitely has plenty going for it in terms of infrastructure and commerce, but the population isn't here to call it a true city, there'd need to be an absolute explosion in growth for that to happen.

roosterman71

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

I can't see it happening tbh. The midlands gateway thing failed to spark because of a lack of critical mass, the towns failed to do enough to attract the industry and population needed to grow sufficiently.


Athlone definitely has plenty going for it in terms of infrastructure and commerce, but the population isn't here to call it a true city, there'd need to be an absolute explosion in growth for that to happen.

Isn't Portlaoise one of the fastest growing town in Ireland. Surely it would be ahead of Athlone in terms of getting city status. It does lack the tourism Athlone has, and the college too though. Athlone has plenty going for it, but it certainly isn't a city

pawrick

It'll certainly never happen when much of the population is split between Roscommon and Westmeath and not within the urban district. As it stands Athlone can't present a united front as a town never mind a city. Officially it has a tiny population within it's urban district and even counting the rural areas around the town the population is still too small. Only huge investment would create the draw factors to bring people otherwise they would be coming already (maybe they got lost in the midlands triangle that was the ATM Gateway mentioned).

That said I agree we have some good things going for us. Number one being access associated with being in the centre of the country and having excellent transport links to Dublin and Galway. Links to Cork and the North not so great. We also have lots of land available to develop.

An improved train service could make the town a viable option for commuters who would otherwise choose towns closer to Dublin and this could help kickstart a population boom but i think that would require additional train lines and faster trains to reduce the journey time. An airport at this stage wouldn't have the demand to stay afloat and realistically we aren't far from Dublin or Shannon airports.

Over all I think our town leaders over the years have been lacking in foresight and in attempting to make the town a more attractive place to live. Even simple things seem above many of them, for example it's only now we have a small wall built to help prevent flooding at the white bridge after all these years, I'm surprised there hasn't been a ribbon cutting event to show it off yet! And the amount of poorly built/maintained speed ramps around the town is ridiculous.

pawrick

roosterman71 wrote: »

Isn't Portlaoise one of the fastest growing town in Ireland. Surely it would be ahead of Athlone in terms of getting city status. It does lack the tourism Athlone has, and the college too though. Athlone has plenty going for it, but it certainly isn't a city

Many of the fastest growing towns are commuter towns. I think Portlaoise falls in to this category as being on the edge of Dublins sphere of influence with people chasing the more affordable places to live. Athlone is just too far for most people to commute from on a daily basis.

L.Jenkins

What I would like to see is rejuvenation of the town itself before any further growth continues. Main street through town, connaught street and other areas of the town need redevelopment and tidying up, before they're absolutely forgotten about and become slums.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

L.Jenkins wrote: »

What I would like to see is rejuvenation of the town itself before any further growth continues. Main street through town, connaught street and other areas of the town need redevelopment and tidying up, before they're absolutely forgotten about and become slums.

Connaught Street, in particular, is in severe danger of never recovering. There is some sort of problem with the rates structure there as far as I know. If there is no way of saving it commercially, then redevelopment should be looked at - as it stands, it is a waste of land. A bookies, a chipper and a few pubs are the only things open on the street.

pawrick

Connaught street development was a missed opportunity when they failed to have the street widened a few years back. The vibe around there is bad in general and some of the bars haven't helped with that over the years.

roosterman71

Like a lot of towns, there are places that are badly in need of an uplift. Once over the bridge, and past Di Bella, it's nothing to look at from there to Walshs, and down towards the garda station. Even around by the castle is poor and not much to entice people in (from the palace to the castle inn).

To me, there are too many retarded rules and regulations around the protection of buildings. Why can't sections of buildings along those streets get an uplift. Chances are, they are of some historic significance and archaic laws about the look of them hold regeneration back.

whyulittle

whyulittle wrote: »

Looking past the populations figures alone around Athlone versus Portlaoise.

2,500 IDA-backed jobs in Westmeath, against 97 in Laois.

http://www.leinsterexpress.ie/news/home/230793/new-ida-jobs-sees-laois-left-further-behind-in-midlands.html

A map of commuting in Ireland; Athlone drawing in lots from its hinterland, Portlaoise acting as part of Dublin's hinterland.

https://twitter.com/2ha_magazine/status/847054488951275521

An increase of about 1,500 jobs in Athlone since the last census. A good handful commuting from Galway by the looks of it.

http://census.cso.ie/p6map43/

L.Jenkins

Just thinking, the Mod of this forum could sticky this thread. On another point, having cleaned out a front and back garden in Saint Marys Place, I found a number of used drug needles. A health check is in order and I sent an email to the County Council and Kevin Moran.

I was also wondering, a voluntary clean up group around town. I haven't seen or heard from the local tidy towns in a while.

The Red Lad

I see the palace is opening back up before Christmas,badly needed and Karma will feel a hit from it.

Lt Dan

roosterman71 wrote: »

Isn't Portlaoise one of the fastest growing town in Ireland. Surely it would be ahead of Athlone in terms of getting city status. It does lack the tourism Athlone has, and the college too though. Athlone has plenty going for it, but it certainly isn't a city

What has Portlaoise got going for it? A prison, asylum centre , a hospital (actually that would come in handy) and what? Nothing. Glorified one street town

Lt Dan

The Red Lad wrote: »

I see the palace is opening back up before Christmas,badly needed and Karma will feel a hit from it.

Really? How is opening it up? I hope they sort out the decor downstairs, it was horrendous, especially when one goes in during a Sunday afternoon and it is still bright.

What kind of clientele does it seek to attract.? I am not sure that it should try to be a pub for everyone and anyone, saying that, it is much too large just to cater for just one age group. Is Piano bar still getting the crowds? Snug?

Seans seems to have got its mojo back in the last year, I never thought the new space up stairs would have been worth while but god, I was wrong, very nice.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

The Palace needs a bit of an overhaul. I always found the white and purple décor upstairs a touch garish. The Snug and Sean's are heaving at the weekends, there's definitely a market there for The Palace to tap back into, provided they do it right.

Hard to know what will happen, but the town has been crying out for a proper late bar for the last couple of years, as it stands, The Piano Bar is the only show in town unless you want to pay into a nightclub and it's usually mobbed. I'll be glad to see The Palace back, hope they do a proper job on it. Apparently, its one of the lads from The Blizzards who has a couple of pubs in Mullingar and some guy who has a couple of spots in Dublin.

flazio

Lt Dan wrote: »

What has Portlaoise got going for it? A prison, asylum centre , a hospital (actually that would come in handy) and what? Nothing. Glorified one street town

Extensive rail and road links, a halfway eating station for motorway traffic coming from /heading to Limerick and Cork.

Lt Dan

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

The Palace needs a bit of an overhaul. I always found the white and purple décor upstairs a touch garish. The Snug and Sean's are heaving at the weekends, there's definitely a market there for The Palace to tap back into, provided they do it right.

Hard to know what will happen, but the town has been crying out for a proper late bar for the last couple of years, as it stands, The Piano Bar is the only show in town unless you want to pay into a nightclub and it's usually mobbed. I'll be glad to see The Palace back, hope they do a proper job on it. Apparently, its one of the lads from The Blizzards who has a couple of pubs in Mullingar and some guy who has a couple of spots in Dublin.

A former musician? Interesting!

It was either this thread or another that someone had considered that if they owned the Palace and try and turn it into something like Whelans. It was shot down, but the reasons for it were very valid . (1) I can't see Athlonians will not pay €20 for a band, that might or might not be rubbish (2) I never got the impression that Athlone ever had an appetite for live bands, especially guitar music, based on everyone seeming to want to ignore whatever band does play eg Seans, Snug, Piano Bar. I know the Loft use to do bands, but it was not like Athlone was ever heaving with Battle of the Band Competitions compared to Mullingar . Jesus Battys in Knockcroghery had more going for it (3) I also got the impression that certain Athlonians would be more at home with a crap techno/dance (whatever the genre) and a bag of yolks. In fact, all joking aside, If a pub tried to do the live Venue thing, there would probably do a hell of a lot better in Athlone if some of the acts were country and western and all that muck the 50+ are into ,the mammies are dying for an excuse for a night out ,lol

As for the Palace decor , well, with upstairs, the lights are off so you don't need to notice it, besides, in the last few years of its life during the first incarnation, going up stairs was tragic and you'd have want to have asked yourself what on earth are ya doing there.But ya, needs a serious renovation, nothing too fancy either. Should never have touched downstairs , it was perfect during the day and the night.

But seriously though, I noticed in Portlaoise there are two or three pubs along the main street that actually make a serious effort to bringing in music acts, comedians etc. (Obviously a charge on the door) With the connections that the Blizzards have it would be worth chancing once a month.?

Like the Piano bar but it is just way too much hassle the best of times, superior to Coppers anyway (Jesus, how do you manage to not make a free entry late night bar work, even in Athlone when times were tougher)

I wonder is Athlone big enough for more than one late night bar.? Sure the town was / is able to have two nightclubs, but are kids of today actually going to the pubs? Especially all those "Super pubs" , many around the country closed (not necessarily because the pub itself was doing bad)

I always noticed that back in the glory days of the Palace (1998-2004), it was the same faces in their, and when Reynards opened up it was the same people shifting over to there and deserting the Palace altogether and the same when the River S opened.

Be interesting though

Lt Dan

flazio wrote: »

Extensive rail and road links, a halfway eating station for motorway traffic coming from /heading to Limerick and Cork.

And, jobs? Night life? (to be fair, some good boozers) Athlone has extensive rail and road links too , granted it has the Limerick -Cork Traffic , are they eating there though? Hardly a pretty town is it ?:D

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Lt Dan wrote: »

I always noticed that back in the glory days of the Palace (1998-2004), it was the same faces in their, and when Reynards opened up it was the same people shifting over to there and deserting the Palace altogether and the same when the River S opened.

Be interesting though

Yeah, I always said that the Athlone public were fickle like that insofar as during that period when you had new pubs opening up here and there, they'd be packed for about 4 months and once people got bored of them, they'd begin to trickle back to their usual spot.

The usual spots of the time being popular established places like Biddy Mulligan's, Dirty Harry's, 41's, Gertie's, The Castle, Sean's and The Palace (before it was redone in 2004, or whenever it was). Places like River S, Rayner's and to a lesser extent, The Prince, were never going to become 'locals', they were superpubs with heaps of space for people, but not much character. When the recession hit and the young ones drinking in them had to go on the dole, or leave Athlone, nobody wanted to stand in a huge, half empty pub!

Sunny Dayz

Now I could be completely wrong, as I don't really go out anymore, I'm of a slightly older demographic (early 30's) but I don't think people my age anyway go out just for the sake of going out. Not like when we were in our early 20's. Nowadays we only go out if there's a particular reason, eg an occasion or if there is a band playing that we like. Eg Macey South played recently and we made the effort to go out for that (and weren't disappointed!). I think Athlone could do with a place where bands could play and be listened to.

Lt Dan

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

Yeah, I always said that the Athlone public were fickle like that insofar as during that period when you had new pubs opening up here and there, they'd be packed for about 4 months and once people got bored of them, they'd begin to trickle back to their usual spot.

The usual spots of the time being popular established places like Biddy Mulligan's, Dirty Harry's, 41's, Gertie's, The Castle, Sean's and The Palace (before it was redone in 2004, or whenever it was). Places like River S, Rayner's and to a lesser extent, The Prince, were never going to become 'locals', they were superpubs with heaps of space for people, but not much character. When the recession hit and the young ones drinking in them had to go on the dole, or leave Athlone, nobody wanted to stand in a huge, half empty pub!

Oddly enough, the River S wasn't a terrible spot, especially on a Summers Sunday night (again, same faces from the night before) The toilet doors got some rocking when the band's were playing loud though, could be messy. You'd have loved to sit on the balcony on a summers afternoon, but, bar Sunday or Paddy's Day it would be dead during the day

Reynards was classy, even down stairs it had charm (AI would consider that as a super pub. Large place) , and the pub food, when they brought it in, 2003-2004 was decent (2003-2004)


I am not entirely sure will Athlone be big enough for two late night pubs with say Palace and Piano Bar and then Karma and Bozos /whatever it is now called. Be great if I am wrong. Clubbing days (well. What passes as a club in rural Ireland) is long over and happily so.

To be fair, between the hours of 7pm to 1 (do people still go out that early anymore?) Athlone has always had a lovely selection of pubs to suit propels needs ; The Shack, Gerties (one of the best), Seerys (shh,it's popular bit I don't want it ruined lol) and then the usual suspects West of the Shannon are quality boozers.

Lt Dan

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Now I could be completely wrong, as I don't really go out anymore, I'm of a slightly older demographic (early 30's) but I don't think people my age anyway go out just for the sake of going out. Not like when we were in our early 20's. Nowadays we only go out if there's a particular reason, eg an occasion or if there is a band playing that we like. Eg Macey South played recently and we made the effort to go out for that (and weren't disappointed!). I think Athlone could do with a place where bands could play and be listened to.

True, but I always got the impression that bands, even Macy South (there was a group who played at Seans the night before New Years Eve last who were good) get ignored by the philistines.Give them a dance dj and a bag of yolks and they are happy.

Live scene, it would be mad to ignore the country and western folk and book semi decent or half known groups. midlands are full of them groups

Throw a few posters around nearby towns like Roscommon and Ballinasloe along with paper ad and boom, even the odd mid week maybe

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Macey South are hugely popular and always seem to pull a big crowd. I was in Killeen's in Shannonbridge one night around Christmas and there was about 20 in the place, next thing Macey South land in to start setting up and a busload from Athlone arrives in to see them and the place is mobbed.

There might be an appetite for country music around the Athlone area, but if you put that music in a popular pub in town, you'd clear the place. Its generally an older crowd who are into that genre (around here anyway) and they'd prefer to have that in a hotel with a proper dancefloor. You'd often see Mike Denver and the like playing gigs in places like the Radisson.

I remember The Palace putting on a few gigs, they had Aslan down a couple of times and I don't remember who else, but they had the space to do that upstairs. Maybe it could be a runner again.

demanufactured

Lt Dan wrote: »

True, but I always got the impression that bands, even Macy South (there was a group who played at Seans the night before New Years Eve last who were good) get ignored by the philistines.Give them a dance dj and a bag of yolks and they are happy.

Live scene, it would be mad to ignore the country and western folk and book semi decent or half known groups. midlands are full of them groups

Throw a few posters around nearby towns like Roscommon and Ballinasloe along with paper ad and boom, even the odd mid week maybe

That was my band playing Sean's the night before new years.... Female vocalist?

Lt Dan

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

Macey South are hugely popular and always seem to pull a big crowd. I was in Killeen's in Shannonbridge one night around Christmas and there was about 20 in the place, next thing Macey South land in to start setting up and a busload from Athlone arrives in to see them and the place is mobbed.

There might be an appetite for country music around the Athlone area, but if you put that music in a popular pub in town, you'd clear the place. Its generally an older crowd who are into that genre (around here anyway) and they'd prefer to have that in a hotel with a proper dancefloor. You'd often see Mike Denver and the like playing gigs in places like the Radisson.

I remember The Palace putting on a few gigs, they had Aslan down a couple of times and I don't remember who else, but they had the space to do that upstairs. Maybe it could be a runner again.

Bands ability to pull the crowd , based on the locals in the other town, not just busing their own Athlone groupies (that would not bother a pub owner of course €€€€) Great group by the way

I was not suggesting putting Country Music on during the weekend , god no. Nor was I suggesting young people who go out to the big pubs at the weekend would be into it.

Midweek, with the oldies having a months notice...they would fill up a place

Yes, Aslan played at the Palace a few times, mobbed etc, but it is not like the Palace kept the live scene going (proper live scene not that wedding band muck) . Once in a blue moon . Is there an appetite for it amongst the 17-35 year olds? Hence why I refer to the older crowd and Country , they can't get enough of it . Dancefloor, fair point

Lt Dan

demanufactured wrote: »

That was my band playing Sean's the night before new years.... Female vocalist?

Ya, with a guitarist, drummer and bass. Very enjoyable night. That girl can sing . Selection of tunes were excellent . They played about 2-3 weeks later at Seans

demanufactured

Lt Dan wrote: »

Ya, with a guitarist, drummer and bass. Very enjoyable night. That girl can sing . Selection of tunes were excellent . They played about 2-3 weeks later at Seans

I'm the guitarist

L.Jenkins

Nice to see that we're having such a great evening weather wise. I was thinking, for the Westmeath forum, we could have a "What's going on in X" thread for events and activities around Athlone and the Midlands.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

L.Jenkins wrote: »

Nice to see that we're having such a great evening weather wise. I was thinking, for the Westmeath forum, we could have a "What's going on in X" thread for events and activities around Athlone and the Midlands.

Good shout. Also, this thread could be stickied!

L.Jenkins

Absolutely. Wouldn't meet getting out and more active around the midlands, besides the daily grind of work and exercise.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Traffic has been a right pain the last few days. J8 on the bypass for Kilmartins closed for works since the weekend, traffic queuing to get off at J9 Blyry is a bloody nightmare and if you don't want to tackle that, you've to drive to the first Moate exit and come back in the old N6. 40 mins this morning for a trip that usually takes 10-15!

Won't take my nice handy commute for granted anymore!!

DVD-Lots

It's supposed to be finished today, wonder if they are on schedule. I had no choice but to go to Moate on Monday morning as I didn't see any signage to say J8 was closed at all, the fog didn't help much, or the hangover ;p

roosterman71

DVD-Lots wrote: »

It's supposed to be finished today, wonder if they are on schedule. I had no choice but to go to Moate on Monday morning as I didn't see any signage to say J8 was closed at all, the fog didn't help much, or the hangover ;p

There was no signage at all. Coming from moate to the Garrycastle junction on Monday was a dangerous game. On the dual carriageway, around the bend and then a queue of cars parked up!

blacklilly

Does anyone know what the parking situation is at the kilmartin station/Creggan hotel?
I've to leave my car somewhere in athlone for a little over a 24 hr period but don't wanna be clamped etc?

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

I'm 90 percent sure that they don't clamp there. I'm out there every day and I've never noticed any signage to say they do. If it was in closer to town it'd be more likely to have clamping in operation. I'd say you'd be grand.

blacklilly

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

I'm 90 percent sure that they don't clamp there. I'm out there every day and I've never noticed any signage to say they do. If it was in closer to town it'd be more likely to have clamping in operation. I'd say you'd be grand.

Thanks, parked there and had no problems

veryangryman

May be soon doing a carpool from Athlone to Dublin. Leaves Athlone no later than 6.30, drop at Liffey Valley bus stop. Return to Athlone 5.30ish same spot. PM if interested